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Much like the congregation, Monica Saks was moved.

Sitting in the black Baptist church with 11 other Jewish and 12 black teenagers, the clapping rhythms of the choir were like those of a cantor at her synagogue, the pastor's sermon like a text her rabbi might read.

But the differences did not make them unrelatable.

"I could really understand their passion," Saks, 16, of Potomac, said of her experience with the First Baptist Church of Georgetown, which she attended through Operation Understanding D.C. last month. The yearlong program uses experiences such as going to temple and then to a black church to unite black and Jewish youth in a study of their common histories so they may become leaders that can speak against racism and anti-Semitism.

"We all stood up and clapped and kind of moved, they were singing up front and when [the preacher] gave a sermon, it really kind of touched me," Saks said.

Twenty-four teenagers, many from Montgomery County, will spend a year together with the program, which began in 1995 and is modeled after a program in Philadelphia, according to Rachael Feldman of Operation Understanding D.C. The program is exclusively for blacks and Jewish high school juniors, who are selected through essays and recommendations.

The 2010 class kicked off with a retreat that included worship visits. The group will spend six months on identity and history-based activities, then take a trip through New York and then the Deep South to see the stages upon which their stories have been told.

"That's when all the things they've been talking about for the last six months really comes alive," Feldman said.

Russell Crock, 17, of Chevy Chase, said he is looking forward to teaching others what he has learned, which has rewarded him with a "new way of thinking."

For example, the group observed interactions within the segregated groups during last month's retreat. They observed "fishbowl" conversations, in which members would watch the Jewish girls or just the black boys converse with one another.

"Most of the black guys had a lot of meaningful things to say, they've been through a lot of different things but they way they talked was with optimism and their outlook was positive," Crock said.

Sam Edelman, 16, of Silver Spring, is Jewish and said he looks forward to creating shared experiences with black students while learning about their shared history of persecution and courage with slavery, the Holocaust and the civil rights movement.

"Because of those shared experiences it creates a strong bond so we can come together and fight for each other and for the rights of any group that is discriminated against," Edelman said. "I have had, before this, very limited experience with black kids."

Piper Spellman, 16, of the District, however, has had many Jewish friends. Piper is black and attended Georgetown Day School in middle school, and now goes to the Academy of the Holy Cross in Kensington.

"I hope to be able to advance the relationship between African-Americans and Jews," Spellman said. "It's amazing to be able to experience diversity and understanding. It's more productive."